A database may store information in the form of database objects, which may include, for example, tablespaces and indexes. A tablespace is a storage location or a storage unit where the actual data may be kept or stored. A database index (or index) is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table or tablespace at the cost of slower writes and increased storage space. Indexes can be created using one or more columns of a database table (which may be stored in a tablespace), providing the basis for both rapid random lookups and efficient access of ordered records. An index, for example, may allow a lookup into a database table based one or more fields. For example, one index may allow employee records to be looked up or accessed based on social security number of the employee. Each tablespace and index may have an object name.
Tablespaces may be divided or organized into tablespace partitions. For example, an employee database may be partitioned into 50 tablespace partitions, with one tablespace partition providing table data for each state of employee residence. Indexes may also be partitioned into index partitions. A database table is a set of data elements (values) that is organized using a model of vertical columns and horizontal rows. A table may be stored in one or more tablespace partitions, for example.
In some cases, data in a database may become lost or corrupted. Therefore, in such a situation, a database (or data) recovery may be performed to recover data (one or more database objects or the entire database(s)).